Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE and LEFT: Seminole County firefighters responded to the aftermath of the EF-2 tornado that slammed parts of Seminole County including Longwood, on March 10, 2025, and dissipated before the Seminole in Central Florida dissipating before reaching the St. Johns River Bridge that straddles the Seminole and Volusia counties. BELOW: Multimedia video.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
LONGWOOD, Fla. -- Cleanup continues nine days after a powerful EF-2 tornado on March 10 slammed parts of Seminole County, including the city of Longwood.
It's a day Matt Morgan, a Longwood city commissioner and former mayor, won't soon forget, recalling it as one of the most frightening experiences of his life.
There is little that frightens the 7-footer, but Mother Nature's wrath certainly did.
"Not gonna lie, this one scared me because it literally came out of nowhere with a very limited time of heads up," recalled Morgan, a retired WWE pro wrestler. "Me and my dog were inside of my bathroom as that's the safest place."
"Not gonna lie, this one scared me because it literally came out of nowhere with a very limited time of heads up," Matt Morgan, a retired WWE pro wrestler, and a Longwood City Commissioner, told Headline Surfer. "Me and my dog were inside of my bathroom as that's the safest place."
Morgan continued: While I felt good about my son, Jackson, being over in Orange County at school that day, as well as my wife at her job in Orlando, this was a very scary window for me and my fellow residents."
"There were two occupants and both were uninjured," according to Seminole County firefighters who were assessing two homes obliterated in Longwood and damage to dozens of others elsewhere in Seminole County.
"A small tornado hit my neighborhood a few minutes ago here in Lake Mary Florida…power out and heard stuff hitting against roof & sides," Mike Lever posted on Facebook.
A semitrailer overturned near Lake Emma Road and Commerce Street in Lake Mary.
“We did have a driver and his dog in the semi when it did get flipped by the wind event," a Lake Mary first responder told local media. "They’re both OK, and we’re really grateful for that.”
These were among the anecdotes of the tornado's almost immediate aftermath.
The National Weather Service reported that the tornado touched down around 9:40 a.m. EDT and “was located over Lake Mary,” heading northeast at 30 mph, reported Monica Danielle, AccuWeather Managing Editor.
The tornado was captured moving across Interstate 4 just north of Orlando, as it whipped through Lake Mary and into Sanford. The worst of it, though was the Longwood area where two homes were leveled and several others damaged.
Tower cameras showed debris flying as the twister passed near Fox 35 Orlando in Lake Mary, which was in the middle of a news broadcast. Employees took shelter under their desks to wait out the storm, station officials said.
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-2 tornado touched down near the Wekiwa Springs State Park around 9:35 a.m. and made its way northeast through the Wingfield Reserve and Whispering Winds neighborhoods in the Longwood area, according to WKMG Ch. 6 Orlando.
Some six minutes later, the tornado headed to Interstate 4 and fell apart near Skyline Drive, according to an NWS damage survey.
"It was wild, wasn't it?" Seminole County Commissioner Amy Linville Lockhart asked Headline Surfer rhetorically about the devastating tornado.
"It was wild, wasn't it?" Seminole County Commissioner Amy Linville Lockhart asked Headline Surfer rhetorically about the devastating tornado.
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